Type: report

Article abstract: The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) began the process of developing a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Desert Complex) in fall 2001. Public, agency, and tribal involvement was an important part of the CCP process, with five scoping meetings held during the first year of the planning process, and multiple interagency and tribal meetings and workshops to address topics related to visitor services, cultural resources, and wildlife and habitat management. The Draft CCP/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was made available for public review and comment from July 11, 2008, through September 9, 2008. The Draft CCP/EIS has been revised to respond to public comments to produce the Final CCP and Final EIS. A Record of Decision will be signed within 30 days after the availability of the Final CCP and EIS is announced in the Federal Register. The Desert Complex, consisting of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Desert NWR1, Moapa Valley NWR, and Pahranagat NWR, is located in Nye, Clark, and Lincoln counties in southern Nevada (Figure 1). Ash Meadows NWR is located northwest of Pahrump, Nevada, less than 5 miles from the California-Nevada border and encompasses approximately 24,000 acres (Figure 2). Desert NWR is located less than 10 miles north of Las Vegas and encompasses more than 1.6 million acres, making it the largest refuge in the continental U.S. (Figure 3). Moapa Valley NWR is located northwest of Moapa and encompasses approximately 116 acres of land (Figure 4). Pahranagat NWR is located at the northeastern corner of the Desert NWR, just south of Alamo; this Refuge encompasses more than 5,000 acres (Figure 5). Ash Meadows and Moapa Valley NWRs were established to protect endangered and threatened species, Desert NWR was established to protect desert bighorn sheep and other wildlife, and Pahranagat NWR was established to provide a habitat for migratory birds. Ash Meadows NWR provides habitat consisting of spring-fed wetlands and alkaline desert uplands for at least 25 plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. The Refuge has a greater concentration of endemic life than any other local area in the U.S. and the second greatest concentration in all of North America. Desert NWR provides a wide range of upland habitats, from saltbush scrub to coniferous forests, as well as natural springs and wetlands. The Refuge provides one of the largest contiguous blocks of habitat for